Science

Elon Musk: SpaceX CEO issues shock asteroid warning – 'it's coming we have NO defence'


Space X CEO Elon Musk admitted Earth had no defence against impending asteroid threats as he responded to Express.co.uk’s Apophis ‘God of Chaos’ asteroid story. NASA has already begun preparations for the arrival of asteroid 99942 Apophis – dubbed the ‘God of Chaos’ asteroid – which will skim past the earth in 10 years. The asteroid measures 340 meters across and will pass within just 19,000 miles of Earth’s surface.  

Apophis is one of the largest asteroids to pass so close to the Earth’s surface and a collision with the planet has the potential to be devastating for all life on Earth.

The billionaire CEO issued his chilling assessment after responding to friend Joe Rogan who shared the asteroid story from the Express.co.uk website.

Musk Tweeted: “Great name! Wouldn’t worry about this particular one, but a big rock will hit Earth eventually and we currently have no defence.”

However, NASA has taken steps towards studying and protecting Earth from asteroids it considers hazardous but currently has no protocols to defend against earth colliding space objects.

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Earlier this year NASA announced its first Planetary Defence Technology Demonstration for the next 3 years.

The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) will be NASA’s first mission to demonstrate a planetary defence technique.

It will get one chance to hits its target, the small moonlet in the binary asteroid system Didymos.

The asteroid poses no threat to Earth and is an ideal test target as it allows scientists to study how the smaller asteroids orbits.

Work has been “ramped up” at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland and other locations across the country as the mission heads towards its summer 2021 launch.

NASA scientists are aware that as the asteroid flies by the planet in 2029, its orbit trajectory may also change thus raising fears that in the future the massive rock could collide with the planet.

The rock is expected to shine exceptionally bright in the sky and pick up speed as it flies across the sky in 2029.

According to some researchers, the immense size of the rock is not a cause for concern as there is a 1 to 100,000 chance of the asteroid striking Earth.



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